The Finale Pt1: The Beginning of the End
by packleader96
Summary: When members of the royal court begin to go missing, our hero's find them selves the targets of a mysterious organization, who will stop at nothing to see them suffer, join our hero's as they face the biggest fight of their lives. rated T for Language, Strong Violence, and some Sexuality. rating might change.
1. prologue

**A/N: this is a preview of the first chapter, of the three part finale, that will end the series.**

**The Beginning of the End: prologue**

It was a beautiful sunny, day over the peaceful, majestic city of Canterlot, and everypony was out doing their daily jobs, running their shops, their business's, and other sorts of things.

Even the students of the Canterlot University, were all hard at work, studying for various tests, or researching projects, everypony was calmed and relaxed, that except for a certain one.

(Canterlot University, student dorm)

"Aw, where is it, I know I put it here somewhere, why can't I find it?" a unicorn said as he ran around his room, looking through drawers and shelves, he was interrupted by another pony walking into the room, with a saddle bag, around his body, when he saw the pony running around the room frantically, he was shocked and sighed.

"Dusk, I thought you were ready, everything's packed, were going to be late for the interview, come on, hurry up" he said, the panicked pony turned to him, "I know, but I can't find our tape recorder, I know it's here, I set everything up last night" he said, the other unicorn just sighed and began looking around the room, when his eyes rested on the bed side table, "yeah, I think I found it" he said as he picked it up, the panicked one gave a sigh of relief, "now hurry up, the others are waiting" he said as he left the room, Dusk walked over to his bag and set the recorder inside, he put it on his back and ran out the door, and closed it behind him.

(Canterlot University, main campus)

As the left the building, they walked across the campus, passing other ponies that were walking to their classes, they had been given special permission by the dean of the school to leave campus and perform their interview, for their important research project.

As they walked up to the main gates, they saw two other ponies there, both of them with bags around their bodies, one of them was male, the other was female, who smiled at Dusk as they walked up.

"guys, what took you so long, we need to get to the senior citizens home, before it's too late" he said, the other pony sighed, "yeah I know, but Dusk here was taking forever" he said as they walked up, Dusk frowned, "hey come on, you guys know I'm not good at last minute packing" he said as the mare walked up to him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "oh well, let's just try and get there on time" she said looking up at him, one of the ponies looked at his watch, "well then, let's get going, this is something we can't afford to miss, luckily it's not far, let's start walking" he said as he placed the bag over his back, and started walking, the others followed him.

(Canterlot, Senior Citizen's Home)

After walking for a few blocks, passing other ponies along the street, they reached their destination, a large building that read 'Senior Citizens Home', the looed at each other with bright smiles, and made their way up the steps, and in to the building.

As they entered, they looked around and saw other ponies, sitting around the room, obviously waiting to see their fathers or mothers, or even grandparents, they turned to the center of the room, and saw a mare in a nurses outfit sitting behind a desk, looking through record books, they all turned to each other, and walked up, as they approached the mare looked up and placed the record book, on the table and looked up at them with a smile.

"Yes, how can I help you four today?" she asked with a kind smile, they all looked at Dusk, he sighed and turned to her and did his best to look decent, "um yes, we're here from the University, we have a scheduled interview, with a um…Mr. Gale, is he available?' he asked the nurse looked through another record book, and placed a hoof, on a specific page.

"ah yes, I do believe he is, I'm his personal nurse, I'll take you to him, I'm sure he would enjoy visitors, he doesn't get many, except for his son, and other family members, please follow me" she said as she lead them across the room, they looked all around, many of the ponies in the room were elderly, except for visitors and nurse's, many of them playing simple games like chess, others reading books.

As they walked across the room, they turned down a hallway, they saw some nurses pushing patients in wheelchairs, others helping the patients, with their walking, soon their walked up a set of stairs, that led to the second floor, they soon turned down another hall, and came up to a door, she took a deep breath, and raised her hoof up and knocked on the door, and waited for a few minutes, they heard a raspy voice on the other side, "yes, come in" said an elderly voice.

The nurse opened the door and they all walked in, the room was well decorated, they saw a nicely set up bed, the bedside table, there was a picture of a much younger stallion, a beautiful young mare, and a young colt, beside that lay a vase filled with flowers.

They continued looking around the room, they rested their eyes on the elderly stallion, looking out the window; he was sitting in a chair, calmly looking at the ponies passing by, in the street below, "Mr. Gale you have some visitors" she said as she walked up to him, and placed a hoof on his shoulder, he turned and looked at her with a smile, "thank you my dear" he said as he tried pushing himself up, but found it very difficult, and he would have fallen down, if it wasn't for the nurse, who helped him up, he turned the chair and sat down once again, facing the four students.

"The students from the university are here for the interview, will you be alright, with that?" she asked in a caring tone, "of course dear, thank you, you're too kind for this old stallion" he said, she smiled at him and walked back to the students, "don't get rough, he's probably one of the oldest patients we have here, but he's very wise, if he asks you a question, I suggest being honest, if you need anything, please call" she said and she left, closing the door behind her, leaving the elderly stallion, and the four of them.

"the older one, looked up at them, his eyes looked as if he was about to fall asleep any minute, the nurse was right, he probably was one of the oldest patients, judging by the wrinkles of his face, he did look like he knew a lot.

"so, you must be the students for the University, when I received your letter, I couldn't help but notice, you wanted to interview me for a research project, you chose the Great Revolution, I'll say that is a very interesting subject" he said, Dusk placed his bag on the floor, "yes we were the ones who sent the letter, but first I must say, it's a real honor to meet you Mr. Gale, we've heard about your stories" he said extending his hoof, the elderly stallion smiled and reached out his shaky hoof, "please you can call me Night Gale if you like" he said as they shook, and stepped back, the elderly stallion gestured for the to take a seat, so they could begin.

"Just so you know if you wanted to know of the revolution, you could have gone to the city library, they have large amounts of articles, of the revolution" he said in a raspy voice.

Dusk looked at the others, and then turned back to him, and remembered what the nurse said about being honest, "yes, but everypony in our class got similar projects, the library was filled to the brim with students looking up information, we thought it best to get information, from a pony who was directly involved with the event, we found out that you lived here, and we decided it was the perfect chance to, get a real example of the events that took place" he said, the elderly stallion just looked down sadly, but then looked up at them.

"yes, I was directly involved in it, but it's been so many years since then, my memory is a bit foggy, you'll have to bear with me" he said as he cleared his throat, they all took a seat, "um, before we begin, do you mind if we record the interview, it will help make it more believable for our class, if we have verbal and video proof, that we were here" he said, the stallion looked up at them, with a confused look, but he nodded his head, they all silently gave a sigh of relief.

One of the four, pulled out, a small video camera, and pressed the record button, Dusk, reached into his bag, and pulled out his tape recorder, and a notepad filled with questions, he levitated a pencil out and placed it behind his ears, and pressed record on the tape.

"Okay, first we wanted to know, how old were you when it all started?" he asked, the stallion, looked to the side and thought for a moment, knowing it might be hard for him to remember, they all waited patiently, he then looked back up at them, "I was probably about as old as you all are, I attended the university myself, when I was younger, but if you want to know what really happened, I'll tell you the whole story, but it will take a while, so you might want to get comfortable" he said as he attempted to readjust in his seat, but after some struggling, he succeeded and sighed.

The four of them waited patiently for him to continue, he son looked up at them, is eyes seemed more lively now, "let me tell you the story of how one pony's lust for revenge, changed this kingdom forever, the story of how one pony's corrupted ambition, shook this kingdom, but most importantly, let me tell you the story, of how my father, Flame, died to protect those he cared about" he said, with a serious look on his face.

The students just listened intently, as he started to tell the story.

**A/N: well there you have it, the preview for the first part of the grand finale, hope you all enjoyed, there might be another, so keep an eye out for that.**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: this is it my friends, here is the first official chapter of the first part, of the epic finale, thank you all for the support, hope you enjoy.**

**The Beginning of the End: chapter 1: mistrust in the council**

It was a bright day in the capitol city of Canterlot, and everypony was doing their daily duties, the sun was hanging low in the sky, and the sky became a bright orange, as it did around this time of the day, everypony seemed to be going about the rest of the day peacefully, many ponies closed their shops, others left from work, going off to enjoy their evening, all seemed well.

But the same could not be said for the members of the royal court.

(Canterlot castle, royal court council chambers)

Celestia and Luna sat at the far end of the large table, the room filled with the shouts and cried of the court members, Shining Armor and Comet sat on opposite's sides of the table, but sat across from each other, they gave each other confused and annoyed looks.

Many problems had emerged in the royal court, a little less than a year ago, a new group had emerged across the kingdom, known as the ERF, a new revolutionary group, that defied the rule of the Princess's, in the past few months, many of the court members had gone missing, and the other blamed it on this new organization, and with each passing week, the ERF grew in numbers and supporters, almost to the point where it became a great threat, many of the members, demanded that all these members be thrown into jail's, but others disagreed, and so the arguing began.

"We should have them all thrown in prison, they are a threat!" one of the members yelled, "no, we don't have any proof it was them, we can't just blindly act, we could be condemning innocent lives" another shouted back, "forget the proof, how much longer will we hide behind that excuse, until all the spots in this room, are empty!" a third one shouted, at this point Celestia had heard enough.

She raised her head, "enough!" she shouted across the room, her voice seemed to echo across the walls, all the ponies fell silent and sat back down, Celestia gazed over them, a calm yet serious look on her face.

"we have no reason to believe that this organization is behind this, but we also know, that this has never happened, until just these past few months, as you all know, I have called all the members of the court here, where we will all be safe" she said in a calm voice, a brief silence fell, until one of the members stood up, "with all due respect your highness, many of the members have already gone missing, while traveling here, the roads and trains are not safe, we must act quickly" he said, just as another pony stood up, "might I add, whoever these ponies are, they seem to target members of the court, we must be thankful that nothing has escalated into full violence, but…I think we should bring in our friends from PonyVille" he said, Celestia looked at him in suspicion, and shook her head.

"no, I will not bring Flame and his family into this, this does not concern them, as you all know, Flame has done many great things for this kingdom, more than any of us could have ever asked, I think it's fair to say, that he has earned a peaceful life, we cannot continue to have him solve our problems for us" she said sitting back down again, just as she did the first stallion stood up, and cleared his throat, "again, with all due respect, you yourself said, that while they might be official members, they are a part of this court, and therefore, their lives are in as much danger as ours, who better to take out than our greatest hero" he said, other members of the court began to murmur in agreement.

Shining Armor turned and looked at the Princess, a look of great concern on his face, Celestia looked down at him, and then sighed, even she knew that the council was right, their lives would be in great danger if they stayed in PonyVille.

She stood up again, "very well, I will take your options into consideration, this meeting has already taken up most of the day, we shall continue tomorrow, this meeting is adjourned" she said lifting the hammer and bringing it down.

All of the members began to slowly stand up and make their ways out of the room, Luna stood up and walked out of the room, knowing it would be time to raise the moon soon, Celestia turned to Shining Armor and Comet, "I wish to speak with the two of you" she said and made her way out of the room, they looked at each other with confused looks, and then walked out of the room with her.

(Later…)

After they left, they headed for the courtyard; Celestia began talking with the two of them, "your highness, do you really think it's a good idea to bring Flame and Twilight into all of this?" he asked looking up at her as they walked, she gave a deep sigh, "I'm not sure, but the council members do have a point, here's what I want you to do" she said, and they stood in front of her.

"Shining Armor, tell all the royal guard outposts to go on high alert, especially those outside PonyVille, keep an eye on them, if anything strange happens we will bring them here, but don't let them know" she said, Shining Armor nodded, and Celestia turned to Comet, "Comet, I want you to contact those who still remain at the Guardian's sanctuary, tell them to scout the mountains, for signs of anything suspicious, as well as all the outposts across the kingdom, this is an official order, make sure to do this tomorrow" she said, and they both nodded.

"The meeting will continue tomorrow, you should both return home, and get some sleep" she said, they both gave a bow and turned away, walking out into the courtyard.

(Canterlot castle, main courtyard)

Shining Armor and Comet walked out into the courtyard, where they saw their families waiting, as well as two carriages that would take them home, before they got there, Comet and Shining Armor turned to each other, "what do you think?" Shining asked, Comet turned to him, "about the meeting, I'm not sure, everything's going crazy, we all need to be careful, this is a dark time for all of us" he said, in a low voice, Shining looked at him.

"I meant about the Princess's plan, so you really think it's a good call?" he asked, Comet rubbed the back of his head, and sighed, "like is said, I'm not sure, the Princess seemed more on edge than usual, and that's saying something, but we will talk it over in the morning, we've all had a long day" he said giving a small yawn, as he walked forward, "watch yourself Comet, like you said, these are dark times" he called after him, Comet turned and nodded before climbing in to the carriage with his family, and it slowly made it's was out of the castle grounds, Shining Armor gave a sigh and did the same, and they all headed home.

**A/N: this chapter might have been a bit dull, but it will pick up next chapter, that I can promise, hope you enjoyed, and see you all next time.**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: here it is guys, the next chapter for the first part of this finale, now things will get even more interesting, hope you enjoy.**

**The Beginning of the End: chapter 2: the first strike**

After they went their separate ways, Comet ordered for the carriage to take them to his house, but the entire time going there, he had a feeling that something wasn't right.

He sat looking out the window of the carriage, at the passing homes and shops, he looked up at the rising moon, and he gave a heavy sigh, "Comet, what's wrong?" he heard his wife ask, he turned to her, and saw the worried look on her face, their daughter sitting across from them, "oh it's nothing, just thinking, it's been a long day" he said, she put a hoof on his shoulder, and smiled at him.

"I still can't believe that the Princess is having all of us put under protection, it's going to be really annoying, having them constantly checking on us, and interrupting" he said, she laughed and kissed his cheek, "it's for our protection, the Princess known what she's doing" she said, he just sighed, and then she formed and idea, and smiled slyly at him, catching his attention.

"I can think of a few ways to make you feel better, when we get home" she said with the slightest hint of lust in her voice, his eyes widened quickly but he smiled at her, "I cant wait" he said as they leaned forward and kissed lightly, only to hear a pony cough and gag, they turned to see Aurora pretending to puke, "can you two please not do that in front of me, it's gross" she said in a whiny voice.

They both laughed, "trust me Aurora, when you get old enough, you'll be enjoying it, I promise" he said and she just shook her head, Comet laughed and turned to look out the window.

Soon, the carriage pulled up in front of their house and they both got out, one of the guards walked up to them, "glad you made it home safely sir, everything's in place" he said, Comet turned to him, "so…what's the plan?" he asked, the guard looked at the house.

"the guards will patrol the house at night, but they won't disturb any of your activities, so it should be fine" he said with a smile, but Comet still had his doubts, he watched as his wife and daughter walked up the steps, "I can't help but feel that something's not right" he said to himself, as he began looking around.

(Meanwhile…)

After they he left, the carriage pulled in front of Shining Armor and Cadence's house, they all hoped out and melody ran up the steps, one of the guards opening it for her, she turned back to her parents, "go on in, Melody, your mom and dad have to talk" Shining Armor said, Melody smiled and ran inside.

Shining Armor took a deep sigh, Cadence looked at him with concern, "Shining, what is it, what's wrong?' she asked placing a hoof on his shoulder, he sighed and looked at her, "I just can't help but feel that this isn't the right way to go, to bring Twilight and Flame here, with everything that's going on, if anything were to happen to them, on my watch, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself" he said, looking down, Cadence brought her hoof to his chin and lifted up his face and looked into his eyes, "Shining, you're a great captain, and a wonderful father, my aunts have ruled this kingdom, for loner then we dare to count, they know what they are doing, I'm sure they know the pressure of making a tough decision, nothing will happen to them, but if it comes to it, and they need to be here, it's better that we are all together" she said in a comforting tone, Shining smiled at her.

"you really do know how to cheer a pony up" he said with a smile, she smiled back at him and kissed his cheek, "if there's any ponies words you should listen to, there your wife's" she said as they made their way up the stairs, but just as they reached the door, a loud roar filled the air, and the sky around them seemed to turn orange.

Shining Armor and Cadence turned around sharply, and gasped at what they saw, to the east of where they stood, they saw a large ball of fire, erupt into the sky, and a tower of smoke billow out of it, Shining Armor knew it was a large explosion, he could feel the heat even from there, he walked to the bottom of the steps, "that's in the east, that's Comet's house" he said as he turned to his Lieutenant, "Lieutenant, I want all available units, at that location now!" he shouted and the Lieutenant reached up to the headset, in his ear.

"Attention all units! This is the Lieutenant, I want all units to report to Commander Comet's house, respond to explosion in the residential district, I repeat, explosion in the residential district!" he said as he hoped into the carriage, Shining Armor was about to follow, but he turned to Cadence, who was still on the top step, "Cadence, get inside with Melody, and stay there, I'll be back" he said as he got in and closed the door, the driver immediately took off, Cadence watched them go, she turned and ran inside the house.

The closer the carriage got, the harder it became, the street was filled with ponies, all worried about the explosion, finally they pulled up a few houses down, Shining Armor and the Lieutenant got out, and ran up to one of the guards, who was wrapped in a blanket, he looked up at the house, it was completely consumed by fire, flames burst out each window, only an explosion from a bomb could create such a blast.

They ran up to him, he had slight burns on his coat, and he was wrapped in a blanket, he was couching badly, others were being tended to by doctors, "what happened here?" Shining Armor shouted over the loud murmurs of the crowd, and the roar of the blazing fire.

The guard looked up at him, and frowned, "the explosion was too large for a gas leak, it was a planted bomb, Commander Comet sensed something was wrong, he took the blast head on" he said as he coughed, Shining Armor looked at the blazing house in shock.

"Where is he?" he asked, the guard pointed to the medical carriage not far, they both ran up to it, as they got closer they saw the body of a familiar pony being placed in the carriage, his body was covered all over, with severe burns, and deep cuts and bruises, his face was covered by a mask, as they ran up one of the medics stopped them, "I'm sorry sir, but he's in a very critical condition, were taking him straight to the hospital, he won't make it if we wait" the medic said, Shining Armor nodded, and the carriage began leaving the area.

He turned and saw Meadow Dawn holding Aurora, in her hooves trying to comfort her, their bodies were covered in very slight burns and bruises, Aurora was crying into her mother's shoulder, Meadow tried her best to comfort her, but even she had tears falling down her face, Shining walked up to her, and wrapped them in a hug, "it's going to be okay" he said trying to comfort the both of them.

(Later that night…)

It was well past midnight, and Comet was immediately taken to the emergency room at the hospital, as well as the others who were hurt in the explosion, when they got to Comet, they found him nearly dead, the explosion knocked him against the stone wall of their steps, the force of the blow broke one of his ribs, and it pierced into his lung, causing internal bleeding, the cuts and burns across his body, were treated.

The doctors did their best, and performed surgery immediately, mended the broken bone and punctured lung with sharp medical skills and healing spells, Comet was successfully healed but remained in a heavy coma, due to the blood loss and concussion.

He was brought into a room, where they would wait for him to wake up, the mask covering his mouth, most of his body was still covered in burns, and would heal over time, but he was still asleep, Shining Armor watched him sleep, he sighed sadly and turned to the doctor that was there with them, his wife and Princess Celestia joined him at the hospital when she heard of the incident.

"How long will it be?" he asked, the doctor sighed, "for him, it's a miracle he even survived, he took an explosion head on, the punctured lung and broken rib should be healed by tomorrow, we used our best spell on it, but as for when he wakes up, all we can do is wait, when he does, he will have a long road of recovery ahead of him, but he should be out in two to three days, depends on how fast the wounds will heal with our magic" he said, Shining Armor walked past him and up to his wife, who had a sad look on her face.

She pulled him into a hug, he greatly returned it, they separated and he turned to the Princess, who also had a sad look on her face.

"Your right Princess, we need to bring Flame and Twilight here, this is far worse than we thought, I don't think we can deny it, this was the work of the E.R.F., if they've managed to infiltrate the E.S.S. then were no longer safe, Cadence and I will go to PonyVille, in the afternoon" he said, the Princess just sighed.

"Very well, but I have a feeling that this is just the beginning" she said, as they all left the hospital.

**A/N: well, there you have it, that was certainly interesting, but things are only going to get worse, see you next time, and thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed.**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: hey guys, sorry for the wait, but school can be very tiring, anyway, here's the next chapter, hope you have all enjoyed the story so far, because it's only going to get more interesting.**

**The Beginning of the End: chapter 3: a good day gone bad**

It was a bright and sunny day over the beautiful town of PonyVille; everypony was doing their daily jobs around town, even Applejack and her family was busy selling their apples in town square.

News of the explosion had not reached the town yet, but for one specific family, it was a special time, two months ago, Night Gale finally graduated the university, at the top of his class and was voted the valedictorian, at their graduation ceremony, shortly after, Night Gale had returned home to a huge congratulations party, set up by his aunt Pinkie Pie.

But for now it was a usual day for them, Night Gale had agreed to stay with his family, for the summer and then with enough money saved over the years, he would find a job for himself and officially move out.

Night Gale and his family were in the main library, going over some of the books he might want to take with him when he moved out, being a book worm like his mother he picked out many books, that he enjoyed over the years, "I think I'll take these" he said levitating, a few books from one of the top shelves, "easy son, don't take all of them, you mother and I still have a library to run here" he said in a happy tone, Night Gale merely chuckled.

Flame and Twilight had a special gift in mind for Night Gale, as part of his graduation surprise, and Flame agreed to be the one to give it to him, he looked back at his wife who gave him a wink, he smiled and Twilight turned to their daughter, "Star Dust, can you help me there are some books in my lab, that Night Gale might like" she said and they both walked down to the basement, Twilight giving Flame a certain look, one that only he would understand.

When they left, Flame walked over to the shelf where Night Gale was, and leaned up against it, and gave a deep sigh, Night Gale turned to him with a confused look, "something wrong dad?" he asked turning to him, Flame merely chuckled, "oh nothing, it's just…it seems only yesterday, that you were just getting ready for your very first day at school, time fly's fast, now here you are, almost a full grown stallion, your mother and I have only dreamed of this day" he said, wiping a tear away, Night Gale put down the set of books.

Flame smiled at him, "I know your graduation was about two months ago, but your mother and I have one last gift for you" he said gesturing for Night Gale to follow, Flame walked up to a shelf, and slid the books aside, and reached inside and pushed away the back panel, revealing a secret compartment, with a small wooden box inside.

Night Gale watched in curiosity as his dad pulled out the box and turned to him, Flame smiled and gently opened the box, revealing a small golden chain, and attached was a small golden heart, Night Gale started at in wonder, "dad, what is this, it's beautiful" he said, Flame smiled and levitated it out of the box, "this is a very special item, it was the very first thing I ever gave your mother, before we got married, it was a difficult time then, but over the years, we decided that when you were old enough, we would pass it on to you, think of it as a late graduation gift" he said, giving it to Night Gale, he held it in his hooves, and looked it over, "dad…I don't know if I can accept this, you don't have to give this to me" he said, Flame shook his head, "we've already made the decision, it's yours, it was designed to be given to a pony you care about more than anything else, it's made from solid gold" he said with pride, Night felt a tear run down his cheek, he knew what his dad meant, when he said it was to be given to a special pony, he had a pretty good idea of who he was talking about.

Flame looked down for a minute, "listen Night Gale, you're a grown stallion now, and it's time you start making your own choices in life, your mother and I won't always be around to help, we have both done our best to raise you the right way, our only wish is that you make the right choices in the future, especially when it comes to a family, with a family, a stallion must learn to put his wife and foals before himself, when the time comes, your sister will get this same talk, probably from your mother, and she will get a gift as well, but I suggest, if you truly believe she is the one, give this to Crystal" Flame said in a kind tone.

Night Gale looked up at his father, and suddenly threw his hooves around his neck, "thank you dad, I will cherish this gift, I promise I will make you proud" he said, Flame laughed and hugged his son back.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, and then separated, and Flame patted Night Gale on the shoulder, just as Twilight and Star Dust walked back into the room, Twilight smiled at Flame, and he winked at her, and then Flame remembered he needed to run to the market place for a few things, "well, you three stay here, I've got to run to the market, be back soon, I think we need some more apples, I'll stop by Applejack's cart to get some" he said as he got his bag and made his way to the door, and left.

(Later…)

Flame made his way through the market place, at a brisk pace, he needed to get back home to help his son and the rest of his family, but he pushed that thought aside as he came up to Applejack's cart, and saw her and her family setting it up, "afternoon Applejack, Dark Star, Solar Glaze" he said greeting all three of them, they turned and smiled, "well, good to see you Flame, nice day, what can we do for you?" Dark Star said in a kindly tone, and he walked behind the cart, "just out doing a little shopping run, me and the family are helping Night Gale pick out some books, for when he moves out" he said, Dark Star smiled, "ah yes, the grow up so fast, Night Gale is already moving out, I think you'll survive, you lived two years without him, I'm sure you will be fine" he said, with a smile.

Flame smiled back, "yeah, it will be hard, but he's a grown stallion now, he can make his own choices" he said, "anyway, I will take a dozen apples" he said, Dark Star smiled and gave them to him, and Flame paid the proper amount, and they went their separate ways.

An hour had passed and Flame finished up the shopping and was making his way home, as he got closer he began to think about what he told Night Gale, about starting a family of his own, possibly with Crystal when they became of age, he knew Night Gale and Crystal were perfect for each other, he couldn't think of a better marefriend, or possibly a better wife for him, then her, she wasn't like most ponies who grew up in the upper life style of the Canterlot nobility, but her parents raised her well, and she was a perfectly fair pony, not like most, who only cared about money and fame, and that is what he liked about her, and he could see what Night Gale saw in her.

Both him and Twilight had discussed it in the past, that if Night Gale would choose to marry Crystal, they knew it would only be a matter of time, before they would become grandparents, the idea didn't scare Flame at all, he welcomed it, the only thing he was worried about, was if Night Gale would choose the right mare, to start a family with.

The entire time he was thinking he didn't see where he was going, he was taken from his thoughts when he crashed into an oncoming pony, and they both fell to the ground, luckily the bag was closed so the food didn't fly everywhere, as he pushed himself up, he rubbed his head, and saw the other pony doing the same, the pony had a very dark grey coat, and a blood red mane, "oh, sorry about that, I was lost in thought, wasn't looking where I was going" he said and helped the pony up, "are you alright sir?" he asked, the pony looked up at him, and his eyes widened in shock, Flame took a step back and looked at the pony with a suspicious eye.

The pony stared at him with wide eyes and open mouth, before he shook it away, and spoke up, "wait…your Flame aren't you?" he asked, Flame gave a confused look, "um, yes…I am" he said, suddenly the pony started cheering, making Flame take another step back, "oh my…this is amazing, it's really you, I am your biggest fan, I never thought I would meet you face to face" he said, Flame just continued to watch him with a confused look.

"Um, I didn't know I had fans, what was your name?" Flame asked and the pony calmed down, he turned to him, smoothing his mane, "sorry, I'm just super excited to meet you, my name is Red Star, it's such an honor to meet you" he said shaking Flame's hoof, Flame just tried his best to smile, "well, it's nice to meet you, but I need to get back to my family, If you will excuse me" he said, walking past and taking a short cut through one of the alley's, Red Star ran beside him, "oh, mind if I walk with you, it would mean a lot to me" he asked, Flame thought for a moment and shrugged his shoulders, and they walked down the alley, talking for a while.

"My this truly is a peaceful town, why didn't you decide to live in Canterlot, in the castle, living the high life" he said, Flame shrugged his shoulders, "well, I never wanted any of that, all I ever wanted was a peaceful life with my family, I don't need to be famous or wealthy to be happy, all I need is my family" Flame said with a smile, Red Star frowned at him, as they came to the end of the alley, "well, it's a shame all this peace won't last for long, something big is coming" he said in a flat tone, completely changing his personality.

When he said that, Flame turned to him, a confused look on his face, "what do you mean by that?" Flame asked, Red Star turned to him, "oh, you haven't heard, this new revolutionary group, they call themselves the E.R.F., they have risen all across the kingdom, their numbers grow every day, and soon enough, this peaceful life you cherish so much, will come crumbling down, and you of all ponies will be most affected by it" he said in a dark tone, Flame was shocked by his sudden change, barely a few seconds ago he was acting like a young foal who just met a foalhood hero, and now he had taken a darker turn, Flame couldn't believe what he was hearing, he was starting to get the feeling this stallion was crazy, with the way he was acting.

Flame frowned at him, "look, I don't know if you're alright in the head, but something like this, I'm sure the Princess will take care of it" he said, making Red Star merely laugh, "don't be too sure of that, the Princess can't always fix every problem" he said and Flame frowned at him again.

"listen, I have no idea what you're talking about, but if you want, I can take you to the nearest hospital, maybe they can help you" Flame said as he started walking away, but Red Star merely smiled, "oh, I'm not the one who will be needing a hospital, that will be you, soon enough" he said, making Flame stop dead in his tracks, and turn around, Red Star merely smiled, Flame's frown became angry, he couldn't tell if the stallion was threatening him, or what, but he wasn't going to stand there and take it.

"Is that a threat, are you threatening me?" Flame asked as he ran up to him, and looked angrily at him, Red Star merely laughed, "If that's what you think, you don't scare me Flame, I've meet far scarier things in my time" he said, Flame had already had enough, "tell me this Flame, did you really think you could have such a perfect life, did you really believe that you would have a happily forever after, life isn't that simple, tell me this, what would it feel like, if you lost your family, or better yet, how would they feel if they lost you, well I'll tell you this, soon enough, before this is over, you will truly know the meaning of pain and loss" he said, Flame ran up to him, he was almost tempted to strike him, but he restrained himself.

His anger boiled at what this stallion was saying, he did know the meaning of pain and loss, but he would never lose his family, he would rather die, than live without his family, "listen pal, I don't know who you think you are, but how dare you come to me and tell me that I might lose my family, I don't have to stand here and listen to your shit, stop following me, and if you come near me or my family again, I will kill you, stay away from us, you and all your crazy talk!" Flame shouted as he walked away, leaving Red Star alone, as soon as he turned to corner, Red Star gave a heavy sigh.

"Very well Flame, you choose to ignore my warning, but when the time comes, don't say I didn't warn you" he said as he put his hood on and walked the other way.

As Flame walked away, he was thinking to himself, what the stallion said, Flame wanted to believe that it was all a lie, but the way the stallion spoke, the truth in his eyes, Flame cursed himself for even thinking that he was telling the truth, he was nothing more than a crazy stallion, he decided to push it all away, and get home, he didn't want to cause any worry, he turned the last corner, and looked towards the library.

His eyes widened in shock, as he saw multiple royal guards standing outside his home, and inspecting the area around it, "Twilight!" he shouted as he ran there, but as he got closer, two of the guards stopped him, "what are you doing let me go, this is my house!" he shouted as he pushed his way between them and ran into the main room, where he saw Twilight and his foals, sitting in the middle of the room, but much to his surprise, he saw Shining Armor and Cadence standing there as well.

He stopped and looked at them, breathing heavily, the looks on their faces didn't seem to happy, "Shining Armor? Cadence? What are you two doing here?" he asked, they both turned to him, and did their best to smile, "as we just told Twilight, we apologize for not sending a notice or something, but this is very important, the Princess's sent us" Shining Armor said, as they walked up to him, Flame felt his heart beat against his chest, as the fear inside him grew.

"Why has something happened?" Flame asked, even though he feared the answer, Shining Armor looked at Cadence and sighed, "yes, something terrible has happened, late last night, there was an explosion in the residential district…the explosion was centered in Comet's house" he said the last part looking down, Flame felt as if his heart would break out of his chest, both him and his family gasped, "what! Where was he, is he alright, what about Meadow and Aurora?" he started asking, "Comet…took the blast head on, he was taken to the hospital, he was in critical condition, he lost a lot of blood, one of his ribs broke and it punctured his lung, but luckily the doctors managed to save him, he was still asleep, but we got the news that he had woken up, but the doctors said he might need to stay in the hospital for another day or two" Shining Armor said in sorrow.

Flame sat down, his mind racing, suddenly the words of that stallion in the alleyway, came back to him, he got control of himself again and stood up, "well, thank the star's he's okay, but why are you here then, shouldn't you be in Canterlot, helping with repairs?" he asked, Shining Armor sighed, "the Princess, sent us here to bring you to Canterlot, she fears that even though you may not be members of the court, these assassins will try to attack you as well, even as we speak you're in danger, we need to get you all to Canterlot, I'll explain more on the way, but we have to go" he said as he made his way to the door, Flame and his family all exchanged worried and scared glances, but the all eventually followed him out.

**A/N: well that was certainly interesting, hope you all enjoyed, another chapter will be up soon, see you guys then, peace out.**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: well guys, I'm back with another chapter for the first part of this finale, hope you have all enjoyed it so far, it's only going to get better.**

**The Beginning of the End: chapter 4: visiting old friends**

After they left the library, they made their way to the train station, and boarded the next train to Canterlot, and just as they planned the train left the station, they knew it was going to be a long journey, so while they waited, Shining Armor began to explain the whole situation.

To say that Flame and the others were shocked was an understatement, they couldn't believe that one group of ponies could cause so much damage.

"I can't believe this is happening, who are these ponies? What do they want?" Twilight asked with great concern in her voice, Shining Armor sighed, "they're known as the E.R.F., it stands for the Equestrian Revolutionary Front, and it's their belief that the Princesses are no longer fit to rule the kingdom" he said and they all gave each other worried looks.

"That's ridiculous, why do they have any idea, as too why the Princess's should no longer be in power?" Flame asked, Shining Armor looked at his wife and then sighed, looking back at Flame, "apparently, they believe that the Princess's failed to protect the kingdom, from some of the great disasters, like the guild, and Shadow's return" he said, Flame looked away for a few minutes, and Shining Armor spoke up.

"the entire city is in a panic, I will be speaking in the market place two days from now, to try and calm the citizen's" he said as the train whistle blew, they all looked out the window and saw themselves pulling into the Canterlot train station.

They all got off the train and made their way to the streets where they were picked up by members of the royal guard, and escorted to Shining Armor and Cadence's house, as soon as they got off they walked in to the house, a few guards followed them in, Shining Armor turned to the others, "the four of you will be staying here, in your usual rooms, we will go to the hospital to visit Comet tomorrow after breakfast" he said as they all went up the stairs to their rooms.

(The next day…)

They all woke up the next morning feeling greatly refreshed, Flame opened his eyes, slowly as they adjusted to the morning light, shining through the windows, he looked forward and came face to face with his wife, her face was a merely a few inches from his, her breathing was steady and peaceful, just seeing her so calm, gave him a sense of security, that for the moment, everything was fine.

Just as he was thinking, Twilight opened up her eyes, and looked into his, and smiled at him, "good morning" he said in a low voice, she smiled and whispered back, "and good morning to you too" she said in a low tone, they both lay there smiling at each other, "we should get ready for the day" she said as they lay there staring at each other, Flame gave a pouting look, "ahhh, does this moment have to end so soon?" he whined, Twilight smiled and gave him a peck on the lips, "I'm afraid it does, get your lazy rear end out of bed" she said as she rolled out and stood up, her mane was a mess, making Flame chuckle as she headed into the bathroom.

After they finished getting ready, they headed down to the dining room, where they met up with Shining Armor, Cadence, and Melody, who was particularly excited to see her aunt and uncle, as soon as they sat down, Night Gale and Star Dust joined them, and they all discussed their plans for the day.

"well good news, shortly after we woke up, the doctor from the hospital contacted me, and told me of Comet's current condition, he's making a full recovery, all the bruises and burns are almost fully healed, the broken rib and punctured lung have been healed, and he is expected to leave the hospital, sometime tomorrow afternoon" he said with a joyful look on his face, Flame and all the others gave heavy sighs of relief.

"What about Meadow and Aurora?" Twilight asked, Shining smiled, "they are already at the hospital, Comet will be allowed to leave tomorrow, but the bandages will have to stay on for another week or two, and he will have to have limited physical movement for the first few days, so after were done eating, we'll head over there, the Princess is waiting to talk to the two of you" he said looking at Twilight and Flame, who just gave each other confused looks.

(Later…)

After they finished breakfast and getting ready, they all left and headed for the hospital, which was on the other side of town.

As they arrived they walked into the lobby, where they were greeted by a mare in a nurse's uniform, who escorted them to Comet's room, on one of the higher floors, when they reached that floor, they walked along the hallway, until they came up to a room, with two E.S.S. guards were standing beside it, the nurse informed the guards, and they stepped to the side, and they walked in, it was a big room, and only one bed, the first thing they saw was three familiar looking ponies, one was sitting on the bed, his body was covered in bandages, there was a pony with a doctor's uniform on, who was taking some blood tests.

When the door closed, the three ponies turned and looked at them, Meadow and Aurora walked up to them, Meadow had a happy look on her face, but there was evidence of tears that ran down her face, the first to react was Twilight, who pulled Meadow into a hug, who greatly returned it, "it's going to be okay, were all here now" she said comforting her.

"well, I sure am glad to see you guys" Comet said from the bed as the doctor left the room, he tried pushing himself off, but was having trouble, prompting Meadow to run over and help him, he slid off the bed with a pained grunt, but smiled at Meadow as he started walking over to them, he had a slight limp in his steps, but he walked over to them, his entire chest and stomach area was covered in bandages, plus some on his face.

"well, I hate to be mean Comet, but you really do look like shit" he said with a chuckle, Comet let out a light chuckle, "yeah, well you try to survive an explosion, and see how you come out" Comet said, they all laughed, "well, the injuries seemed to be healing up, I've been stabbed and shot, but an explosion, not for me, but still goes to show, your tough and resilient, just like your father" Flame said with a smile, and Comet smiled back.

Just as he was about to speak up, the door opened again, and in walked none other than Princess Celestia, who smiled as she saw Flame and Twilight there.

They all gave a respectful bow, except for Comet, "sorry Princess, I would bow, but my injuries-" he was saying, but the Princess raise her hoof, "it's quite alright, I understand" she said as Comet walked back to the bed, and a nurse came in to help him up, Celestia turned to Twilight and Flame, with a smile.

"I am very happy to see you both again, with everything going on, I must apologize for the rush to bring you here" she said, and Flame chuckled, "by now Princess, I guess you could day that we are used to it" he said, but Celestia frowned, "it pains me to have to being the four of you into this, but with what happened to Comet, I knew they would surely try to get you next, I sent another team to PonyVille, to bring the rest of your friends, they should be here tomorrow" she said.

Flame looked away or a minute, "it's alright, if there's a group of ponies out there threatening our friends and their families, then they threaten ours too, we'll be happy to help anyway we can" he said, the Princess smiled and walked over to Comet, just in time for Shining Armor to walk up to them,, a nervous look on his face.

"Flame, can I speak to you for a minute outside?" he asked, Flame looked at Twilight and shrugged his shoulders, and they walked out, and a little ways down the hall, Shining Armor turned to Flame, "so what is it that you need?" Flame asked, Shining sighed and looked up at him, "as I told you yesterday, I am to be speaking in the market place tomorrow afternoon, and I wanted to ask you something?" he said hesitating, Flame stood there waiting for the question.

"I was wondering, if you would serve as head of security for the time being, I know this is asking a lot, but with everything going on, I would feel more at ease, if somepony I know I can trust is the head of my security" he said, Flame looked away for a minute, and thought it over, for a moment Shining thought he would say no.

"well…I can understand where you're coming from, you have every right to be nervous, okay, I'll do it, that is what family does for each other" he said, and Shining gave a heavy sigh of relief, and they both made their way to the room again.

**A/N: well there you have it, that's all for now, I apologize for the long wait, but I should be back to write more chapters later on, see you then.**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: hey guys, I'm back with another chapter, for this story, hope you all enjoy, because now things will start getting more and more interesting.**

**The Beginning of the End: chapter 5: trouble in the market**

They stayed at the hospital for another few hours, before they finally left to return to Shining Armor's house.

Later that day they got a letter from the Lieutenant who said that the train with the rest of their friends will be arriving later in the day, which was earlier than expected.

After Flame agreed to be the head of security for Shining Armor's speech to the public, he was given the lay out of the entire area, and told the position of every guard and what to look out for, they discussed it through the night, and they eventually went to sleep.

(The next morning)

After they had all woken up, Flame was busy getting ready in their room, when Twilight walked up to him, with a worried look on her face, "are you sure about this?" she asked, he turned and smiled at her, "haven't you learned by now, after eight years of marriage, that I always pull through, whether it's good or bad, it's not a war, I'm just making sure that everything goes as planned, keeping an eye out for any trouble, it's going to be fine" he said with a smile as he placed his hoof around her shoulder, she smiled back at him.

"I guess you're right, the kids and I will be in the audience, and we can help you out" she said with a smile, he leaned in and gave her a peck on the lips, "exactly" he said as their door opened and Shining Armor walked in.

"sorry to interrupt, but the carriage is here, we need to get moving" he said and they all walked out, all of their friends were in different carriages, and they would all be in the crowd listening to Shining Armor's speech, as the carriage left the house, they failed to notice the hooded stallion watching them from two blocks down, perched on one of the rooftops of the houses, he raised his hoof up to the small ear piece, and pressed a button.

"They're leaving the house, the target is with them, proceeding as planned" he said, when a voice on the other side spoke up, _"excellent, don't let the target escape, if we succeed, we are one step closer"_ the voice said, and the stallion nodded, luckily he was a Pegasus, and he spread his wings and took off.

As they rode along, Shining Armor turned to Flame, and sighed, "You know the plan?" he asked Flame smiled, "relax, I got a chance to study the map, everything is going to be fine" he said with a smile.

"What about you, you think you'll be okay with speaking to the public?" Flame asked, Shining Armor gave a chuckle, "it's not my favorite thing, but I've done it before" he said, as the carriage came to a halt, and the door opened and Flame and his family stepped out, "alright, be careful" Flame said as the door closed and rode off, he turned to his family, "okay, find a spot in the crowd, I have to go" he said giving them all a hug before he made his way to the back stage.

As he got closer, a large stage was set up in the middle for the market, and ponies were already getting their places, as he got up, Flame saw a two ponies with royal guard uniforms on, as he walked up he lifted up his badge, and they stepped to the side, Flame quickly walked past and up to the Lieutenant, who was looking over a clip board.

When Flame walked up to him, he cleared his throat, the Lieutenant turned and gave a quick salute, and Flame returned it, "good morning Lieutenant, is everything in place?" Flame asked, the Lieutenant nodded, "yes sir, all the guards are in place, Captain Shining Armor is arriving now" he said pointing to the stage, as another one of the guards walked up to the podium, and tapped the microphone, making it echo across the crowd, who all turned and watched.

"good morning, we'll be getting straight down to business, may I present, Captain Shining Armor of the royal guard" he said as he stepped to the side, and Shining Armor and Cadence walked up, and Cadence took a seat, while Shining walked up to the podium.

He cleared his throat, and began speaking, "thank you Corporal, I'd like to thank you all for coming, I am here because of the recent attack on our city, a few nights ago, it is my duty to reassure you that everything has been under control, and all repairs from the explosion are being made, in this disturbing time, I know many of you are scared and worried, but I must ask that you remain calm in these troubling times, and all measures are being taken…" he said.

Flame looked past the crowd and saw his friends and family, intently listening to Shining's speech, he turned to the Lieutenant, who was talking into his headset.

"Give me an update" he said in his headset, _"everything checks out sir, nothing unusual" _said a voice on the other end, but Flame still had a feeling it wasn't alright, he kept looking around, scanning the rooftops and the crowd, for anything suspicious.

(Meanwhile…)

While Shining Armor was giving his speech, a lone hooded Pegasus watched from the back of the crowd, he looked at all the guards everywhere, he frowned as guards were looking over the entire area, he slowly began making his way into one of the alleys, and walked out of view, making sure not to look suspicious, as he leaned up against the wall, he took off the pack, and speared his wings, and landed on one of the roofs, as he made his way up, he reached the top and saw the perfect vantage point, overlooking the entire market.

He placed a hoof on his headset, "I'm in position sir" he said, and a voice replied on the other end, _"excellent, wait for the right moment, and make sure nopony sees you"_ said the voice and he placed the bag down.

While Flame still looked around, he was also listening to Shining's speech, "…I will now take your questions" Shining said as all the camera's clicked and flashed, many ponies started shouting out, and raising hooves, Shining looked around, and pointed to one of the ponies in the crowd who was shouting out, and all the other fell silent, "excuse me Captain, but what is Commander Comet's current condition?" he asked, Shining Armor sighed, "I was informed earlier today that Commander Comet has made a full recovery, and will be leaving the hospital later today" he said back and the pony lowered their head.

As Flame continued watching, he again scanned the rooftop, but as he did, something strange caught his eye, to him it looked like a shadow, he turned to the Lieutenant, who was talking into his headset, "Lieutenant, did we order for any rooftop security?" he asked, and the Lieutenant gave him a confused look, "no sir, I don't think we did" he said back, and Flame pointed to the spot where the pony was observing, the Lieutenant raised up a pair of binoculars, and then gave a chuckle, and then looked back at Flame.

"could be just a spectator trying to get a better view, it's not unusual" he said, Flame looked back with suspicion, and saw that the pony had a very strange object in their hooves, from what Flame saw, it appeared to be a weapon.

Flame's eyes widened, and he took the binoculars, and looked through them, from what he saw it was a male Pegasus, he seemed to be putting together some kind of gun, but Flame couldn't tell, he watched as the pony lowered the gun and laid down, Flame took the binoculars away, and followed where it was pointed, he gasped as he saw it pointed at the middle of the stage, right where Shining Armor was standing.

His eyes widened and he dropped the binoculars, the Lieutenant gave him a worried look, "sir, is everything okay, what's wrong?" he asked, Flame ignored the question as he looked back at the pony on the roof, and then back towards the stage, he looked away for a minute, and then turned to the Lieutenant, "the Captain's in trouble, start getting everypony out of here" he said as he walked away at a fast pace, making his way through the other guards in his path, he kept watching the pony on the roof.

As he made his way towards the stage, he saw more clearly, and saw the pony aiming the weapon straight at Shining Armor, the entire time Shining kept speaking, completely unaware of the peril, Flame started walking faster, as the ponies cleared the way, he broke into a run, trying to get to the stage, and knock Shining Armor out of the way.

Time seemed to slow down as he ran up the steps to the stage, all of the ponies began turning to him, "get out of the way!" he yelled, Shining turned to him with a confused look, and Flame jumped into the air, and tackled him away from the podium, but just as his body rammed into, the loud crack of a gunshot echoed across the air, and Flame suddenly felt a sharp pain in his side, like a red hot nail, digging into his side, but just before he hit the floor, another boom echoed and he felt another stinging pain in his shoulder, and then he cried out as he hit the floor, and rolled on to his side.

He heard the cry of the crowd and the sound of trampling hooves, he tried to push himself up, but fell to the floor with a pained grunt, and he opened his eyes, but only opened them enough to see in front of him, all he saw were the ponies in the crowd running in every direction in a panic.

He felt his vision getting blurry; all he could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat, much to his surprise, he saw a pony with a hood and cloak hop on to the stage, and walk up to him, with his energy drained from his body, he couldn't look up to see his face, all he could see was the ponies hooves in front of him, and the voice that seemed to speak inside his head, but he could barely understand it, all he heard was, "…this is not your time Flame, but it will come soon" said the voice, and he slowly blinked, and when he opened his eyes, the pony was gone.

As he tried to remain awake, he heard the familiar call of his name, from an all too familiar voice, he watched as his wife ran up to him, she was yelling something to him, but he couldn't hear it, he just felt himself get weaker, all feeling in his body left and he slowly closed his eyes, and then everything went black.

**A/N: well, like I said, that got very interesting, hope you all enjoyed, and as always see you all next time, more chapters to be up soon.**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: well guys, here's the next chapter for this story, there will be more chapters up for other stories later, now is when things get even more interesting, enjoy.**

**The Beginning of the End: chapter 6: mysteries unfold**

The last thing Flame remembered was falling to the floor of the stage, and blacking out, but he also remembered the voice, that he heard in his head, and the strange pony that came up to him, while he was lying on the verge of death, yet did nothing to help, and then he just vanished in the blink of an eye, then everything went black.

When he opened his eyes, he felt blinded by a strange white light, he tried raising his hoof but felt too weak, he heard what sounded like muffled talking, but could not make out what they were saying, he watched as blurred shadows moved around him, he could not tell if they were friendly or hostile, but he was too weak to defend himself either way.

Then his weakness got the better of him and he closed his eyes, and let darkness fill his vision.

After what seemed like a few minutes, he opened his eyes again, and found that his vision was not as blurry as before, but it still required him to raise his hoof to block the light, which he did with better luck, as he waited for his vision to return, he heard what sounded like a heart rate monitor, giving off its small _beep_ sound.

As his vision fully returned, he moved his hoof back down to his side, and looked up, he found himself looking straight up into a light fixture, it's glow forcing him to turn his head to the side, he saw a group of monitors, all of them bright and working, he moved his head and looked around the room, from what he could tell, he was in some sort of hospital room, he tried moving his other hoof, but a sharp pain shot up, and he cringed and it fell down.

He continued looking around, and saw a nurse walk up to the side of the bed, unaware that he was awake, she checked the monitors, and started scribbling something down on paper, he tried clearing his throat, when he did she gave a small gasp and turned to him, "oh, you're awake" she said walking up to him with a kind smile, "what…what happened?" he asked, but his voice came out very rough, she looked to the side, and picked up a glass of water, and gave it to him, being unable to pick it up himself, she helped him tilt his head, and placed the glass on his lips, he drank it gratefully as the cool liquid spilled down his throat.

"there, now give it a little bit and try to speak" she said, Flame waited for a minute and tried speaking again, his voice came out better but still had a gravely edge to it, "where am I? What happened to me?" he asked, the nurse looked away for a minute, and said, "Go tell them he's awake" she said and turned back to him, "you were in pretty bad shape, two shots, one to your side and one to your shoulder, the bullets have been safely removed, but the one that hit your side, fractured a part of your rib cage, and the bones are almost fully healed, but you shouldn't do much outdoor activity for a while" she said, Flame sighed, and looked away, but suddenly his eyes shot open and he turned back to the nurse, "wait, my wife, my kids, Shining Srmor, what happened to them?" he asked desperately trying to sit up, but was only met with a sharp pain to his side and shoulder, he was about to fall back in bed but the nurse placed a hoof on his back and good shoulder, "easy now, you'll be in pain for some time, not many ponies survive what you did, you should count yourself lucky" she said, and he chuckled a bit, as she helped him into a sitting up position, "yeah, I've heard that before" he said and turned to the nurse, with a worried look.

"But…my family?" he asked, she smiled at him, "they're all fine, your wife stayed with you the entire time practically, even after visiting hours, she refused to leave your side, we finally convinced her to leave the room, she's down in the lobby with the rest of your family, must be nice having such a caring and loyal wife, you must love her very much" she said, he sighed and smiled as he leaned back, "yes…I love her more than anything, my family is the most important thing to me" he said, the nurse smiled, and turned to the side table, and lifted up a small package, and opened it over a glass of water.

Flame watched as a small pill, fell out into the water and started dissolving, until the water had a bubbly look to it, she lifted it up, and turned to him, "here, drink this down, it will help the healing process" she said as Flame tried to use his magic but felt weak, she smiled and brought the glass to his lips and he drank it, just as he did the door to the room opened, and in walked a very tire looking Twilight, when she turned and saw him awake, her eyes lit up, and a wide smile appeared on her face, and she ran up to him, and almost fully jumped on the bed, and threw her hooves around his neck, "oh Flame, your awake, your finally awake!" she shouted happily, Flame felt a sharp pain in his shoulder and Twilight applied pressure.

"Oww, Twilight I'm glad to see you too, but you're killing my shoulder" he shouted, she let go, and got off the bed, and took his hoof in hers, "oh Flame, I thought I would lose you" she said tears forming in her eyes, Flame smiled and lifted her up to the bed, so that she was leaning over to him, he smiled and brushed her tears away, "you're not going to lose me" he said and he kissed her on the lips, Twilight greatly welcomed it and they stayed like that for a few minutes, until the door opened again.

They both separated an turned to see Shining Armor and Cadence walk in, both of them smiling, Twilight got off the bed and turned to them, Shining smiled and walked up to Flame, "well, glad to see your awake" he said, Flame gave off a chuckle, "yeah well, it's not like I haven't been in this situation before, when does the doctor say I can leave?" he asked, Shining gave a soft chuckle, "I think he said sometime tomorrow, your bones are still healing, but should be done by tomorrow afternoon" he said, and they all fell silent.

Shining's smile disappeared, and Flame had an idea about what he was going to say, "listen Flame, I don't know how to say this, you saved my life, if it weren't for you, I would be dead, I can't thank you enough, I don't know how I can ever repay you" he said, but Flame raised his hoof, "you don't have to repay me at all, sacrifice is what family does for each other, I know you would do the same for me, I just hope it doesn't come to that" he said with a light chuckle, and they all joined in.

"Speaking of leaving the hospital, how long have I been in here?" he asked, they all turned to each other, when Cadence spoke up, "after the attack, you were taken straight here, that was about two days ago" she said, Flame gave a shocked look, and turned to Twilight, "what about Night Gale and Star Dust?" he asked, she smiled at him, "there both fine, they back at Shining's house, they were here earlier, but left to get some sleep" she said and Flame gave a sigh of relief, just as one of the doctor's walked in, "I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over now, Flame will be under good care, you should all get home, and sleep" the doctor said, and they all made their way out of the room, Twilight gave one last look at Flame, who flashed her a comforting smile, she smiled back and left the room, and the doctor walked up to him.

"I suggest you get some sleep, you're going to need it" the doctor said, Flame smiled and thanked him, before he laid back down with the help of the doctor and slowly began to drift off into sleep.

(Later that night…)

Flame woke up to the drum beat of rain on his window, he opened his eyes and found himself sleeping on his good shoulder, he watched the rain beat down on the window, he remembered that the weather teams had scheduled a heavy rain fall, with the occasional thunder and lightning, but not enough to worry the hospital workers, he couldn't remember why he woke up, but also he felt as if he couldn't sleep, something must have woken him, but he couldn't remember what it was.

He lost his train of thought when the door opened, and in walked a male pony dressed in a doctor's uniform, he didn't look like his other doctor, but he thought it must have been the night doctor, he had his white face mask covering his most of his face, all Flame could see was his eyes, he watched as the doctor walked over to the machines and examined them, the entire time keeping his eyes on Flame, who felt as if this stallion was familiar somehow, but he couldn't place his hoof on it, as the doctor started tinkering with the machines, Flame turned on to his back and sat up, watching the doctor.

"oh, it's okay doctor, one of the nurse's already came in to check on them" Flame said, the doctor merely chuckled, and turned to him, "oh, that's not why I'm here, I just passing by, and decided to check up on my favorite patient" he said, Flame could see a sinister smile appear behind his mask, Flame was about to ask what he meant, but was stopped as the pony reached up and removed the mask, so Flame could see his face, and what he saw shocked him indeed.

As he took it off, Flame suddenly remembered the stallion, a pony with a dark grey coat and blood colored mane, he recognized him as the pony he met in the alleyway back in PonyVille a few days prior, "you!" Flame said a look of shock and a look of anger on his face, he tried to sit up better but did so very slowly, as the medicine was still trying to heal him, "nurse! I need help!" he shouted but the pony just smiled and gave off a chuckle, "oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you" he said as he watched him, Flame sat back down and the pony walked up to him, and placed the covers back over him, "don't touch me, or come near me!" he shouted, "I remember who you are, your that pony Red Star" he said, the pony smiled, "guilty as charged" he said with a smile as he walked over to the other side of the bed.

"Just wait until I get a nurse in here, she'll call the police, and arrest your sorry ass!" he said, the pony simply, "oh, I wouldn't bother with that, I've already taken care of all them" he said with a sinister smile, Flame looked him in the eyes, and saw the look, his eyes widened, "what…what did you do to them?" he asked in shock, Red Star just burst out laughing, and looked at him, "aha, I just love that look, you look so serious, that's what I like about you Flame, you have the most interesting reactions, to everything, it's hilarious" he said as he caught his breath, Flame wasn't amused, he just stared at him, "you haven't answered my question" Flame said sternly, Red Star stopped laughing, and looked at him, and just gave off another chuckle, "oh come on, your no fun, seriously what do you think I did, did you think I killed them…well I could if I wanted to, but that's not what I'm here for" he said yet again walking over to the other side of the bed.

"Then what are you here for?" Flame asked, Red Star smiled, "now that is the right question, simple enough, I'm here for you Flame" he said with a smile on his face, Flame's eyes widened in shock and fear, but he tried to mask it with anger, making Red Star laugh, "don't try to pull that 'brave face' look with me, I can see how you really feel right now, and relax I'm not going to hurt you, I'm just here to tell you some things" he said, Flame looked at him with a curious look, "tell me what things?" he said and Red Star smiled again, "now, we get down to business" he said as he took off the hat and the coat, and tossed them to the side, but pulled a black cloak out from the pocket, and draped it over his shoulders, and fastened it around his chest, he gave a sigh of relief, "ah, much better, wasn't one to dress up a lot" he said and smoothed his mane.

"Well?" Flame asked impatiently, Red Star looked at him, "hmm, oh yes, first of all, the last time we met you were very rude to me, but I'm willing to push that aside, there are more important things to talk about" he said, but Flame didn't remember what he meant, but listened intently, "secondly, you refused to head my warning" he asked with a straight face, no longer smiling.

Flame felt confused, "what warning, you never told me anything…" he said, but Red Star looked at him intently, "oh but I did, remember back in PonyVille, I told you things were going to get worse for you, but you didn't listen, and it looks like I was right" he said gesturing to the bandages, Flame thought for a moment, and then realized he was right, he did remember something like that, "wait, so you knew this was going to happen, you knew some assassin was going to try and kill Shining Armor, why didn't you tell me that" he said with disbelief in his voice.

A stern look appeared on Red Star's face, "it wouldn't matter if I told you or not, it couldn't be stopped" he said as he walked over to the window and looked out, into the storming night, "what are you talking about, I could have done something about it, I could have stopped the speech before it happened, if you had information about that, you should have gone to the Princess's, they could have stopped it" Flame said, Red Star gave off a light chuckle.

"Oh Flame, sometimes you are so ignorant, still thinking that the Princess's can stop every bad thing, but even the Princess's won't be able to stop what is coming" he said still looking at the raging storm, Flame couldn't understand what he meant, "I'm not sure I understand" Flame said, Red Star didn't turn to him, "everything happens for a reason, you of all ponies should know that, everything is planned out by fate, every step we take in our lives, every choice, every action, it's all planned out, fate has known every choice you've made, and every choice you will make, from the moment your born, to the moment you will die" he said finally turning to him.

Flame just listened in amazement, but he still couldn't understand something, "how is it you know all this, how is it that you knew that this is going to happen?" Flame asked, Red Star looked away for a minute, the briefest glimmer of sadness in his eyes, and then it was gone, and he looked back up at Flame with a small smile, "I…have my ways, which brings me to the other reason as to why I'm here" he said walking up to the bed, and look of seriousness on his face, making Flame tense up.

"I'm here to warn you yet again, if you think things are bad now, there only going to get worse, something's coming Flame, something that will affect you on a personal level, something that can't be stopped" he said, staring Flame in the eyes, Flame felt his throat dry up, but he found the words to speak, "I'm not sure, I understand what you mean" he said, Red Star turned and walked back to the window and stared out once again, "it's amazing, how you ponies live your lives, completely unaware of how things can be taken away from you in an instant, and your left wondering, how it all went so wrong, it's fate, fate plans every step of our journey, from the cradle to the grave, I've been around for quite some time, I've watched you all, change in many ways, thinking you know so much about the world, yet still completely clueless, there's a storm coming, not like this one, but something bigger, something even the Princess's won't be able to stop, and it's going to make you question, everything you know about the world" he said, and they both fell silent.

Flame couldn't find the words to respond, just then the clock chimed, and Red Star turned and started making his way to the door, but Flame stopped him, "wait!" he said, Red Star stopped at the door, but didn't turn around, so Flame continued, "why bother telling me this, if you said there's no way to stop it?" he asked, Red Star sighed and looked back at him and took a few steps toward the bed, "I just wanted to let you know, so you can expect it, the world works in mysterious ways, and for reasons even I can't explain, fate seems to have a particular interest in you Flame, all will be revealed to you in time" he said as a flash of lightning filled the room, and suddenly the bed side lamps went out and the room filled with darkness, and just seconds later they came back on, and Flame looked around the room, and mush to his shock, he was alone.

He looked around, the doctor's cloak on the ground was gone, there was no sign that there was another pony in the room with him, he was alone, Flame couldn't understand, the lights were only out for a few seconds, there's no way he could have left that quickly, but yet he was entirely alone.

Flame looked at the clock, and it was well past midnight, he had thousands of thoughts swirling through his mind, but he still needed sleep, he gave off a heavy yawn, he would think more about it tomorrow, he turned and lay down on his side, and slowly closed his eyes and drifted off into sleep.

**A/N: well there you have it; this was an interesting chapter, see you all next time, hope you all enjoyed.**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: I apologize for not getting anything up in a while, but school is a pain, but I am on break, so I will do as much as possible, here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy.**

**The Beginning of the End: chapter 7: more problems**

The next morning, Flame woke up to one of the nurses walking into the room, she simply checked on the machines and left the room, as Flame stretched, he felt much better, but he was still very sore, he would need to relax for a few days, the doctor told him to take it easy, and certainly limit his physical activity, his body would remain weak for a few days, and he lost a lot of blood, so he needed to avoid activity.

After another nurse came in and gave him his breakfast, he didn't feel very hungry, a part of him was still uneasy, from the strange encounter he had the night before, he still had the feeling that it was all a dream, but another part told him it was real, he pushed that thought to the side, as he ate his breakfast, the food was very good, Flame always preferred to eat at home, money was never a problem for his family, being a national hero, saving the kingdom had its other perks.

As a small part of his reward, was a large amount of money, that they stored away in a bank, part of that money went into getting Night Gale and Star Dust into the university of Canterlot, other parts was to go to Night Gale when he finally moved out and got a place of his own, and the same went for Star Dust.

As Flame ate the doctor walked in, "ah, good to see you're eating, you'll need to keep up your strength, you lost a lot of blood, don't get into any trouble, especially something like getting shot" he said with a chuckle, Flame laughed, "believe me doctor, that is the last thing on my mind, I'll try to limit my activity" he said as the doctor walked away, "you should be able to leave later today, your wife and brother –in-law, will be here later to pick you up, you should get some more rest" he said, as he left the room.

(Later that day…)

In the afternoon, Flame was in his room, the doctor helped him off the bed, he gave off a pained grunt, as he came on all four hooves, he started walking around, every time he stepped down with the injured shoulder he gave a pained grunt, but the more he walked, the less it hurt, as he started walking around, he even noticed he had a slight limp to his stride, but he would have to deal with it, just as he walked back to the doctor, the door opened up, and Flame saw his wife walk in, she smiled as she walked up to him and hugged him, and gave him a kiss on the lips, which he welcomed.

They both turned to the doctor, "well, thanks for all your help doctor, I think my wife can carry me home" he said in a joking manner, they all laughed, "you think I'm carrying you home, not a chance, you may be injured, but you're on your own" she said and he laughed, the doctor cleared his throat, "very well, remember, the bandages will need to be changed later today, one of my assistants, will give you a small bottle of pills, it's just to help relieve the pain, other than that, limited activity, you know the drill" he said with a smile, and they all smiled, as they left the room.

Flame was partially leaning on Twilight for support but for the most part, he was walking fairly well, as they came out of the hall, one of the assistants walked up to them, he was levitating a small bag, which Twilight took, he turned to Flame, Flame saw that he had a grayish coat, and a red mane, the pony smiled at them, "here you go, take two before bed, there should be enough for a few days, in you run out, come back here and we'll get you some more, I hope you make a speedy recovery" he said flashing Flame a smile, Flame looked in his eyes and frowned, he felt a quick chill brush over him, as he stared at this pony, but just as he did, Twilight pulled on his good shoulder, "come on Flame, Shining's out front" she said and they continued on.

As they walked away, the assistant kept staring at them, turning to watch them leave, as they went out the door, his smile faded, "yes, I do hope you make a quick recovery, you're going to need it" the pony said before he turned and walked away.

As they walked out of the hospital, Flame saw a carriage waiting for them, Shining Armor and Cadence waited inside, as they walked up, Flame stepped up, but cringed as he crawled in, Shining Armor helped him in, as Twilight hoped in after him.

"Well, glad to see your finally out" Cadence said with a smile, Flame smiled back, "yeah, I just want to go home and relax, doctor said I need to rest, so that's what I'm going to do" he said, and the carriage started for home, an awkward silence fell between them, and Shining sighed heavily, making Flame notice.

"Shining what's wrong?" Flame asked, he looked at him and faked a smile, he looked at Cadence who placed a hoof on his shoulder, "well…I have good news and bad news and more bad news" he said, Flame turned to Twilight, "am I missing something? What's happened while I was in the hospital?" he asked, Shining sighed again, "the good news is, the assassin's that nearly killed you, have been captured, and they have been interrogated…" he said hesitating, Flame just waited.

"those assassins were sent by the E.R.F., but that's not the worst, we've read reports of increasing violence in some cities, from disappearing to open violence in the streets, there's been more violence in the past few days, then the last few months alone, some of our outposts have been attacked or raided, one of our airship manufacturing plants was raided and then destroyed, they took everything from armor plates, to weapons that aren't even added to the ships, everything's falling apart fast" he said looking away with a worried look.

Flame couldn't believe what he was hearing, that much has happened, he looked back at Shining Armor, "what are the Princess's planning on doing?" he asked, Shining looked at him, "she issued an order, she wants more Royal Guards and E.S.S. members in every city, to try and prevent this from escalating into a war, Comet and I just issued the orders to our troops, they began moving out earlier today, all we can do is hope things calm down" he said with a solemn look, Flame looked at Twilight who just shared her brother's concerns.

After they arrived at the house Twilight and Shining helped Flame out of the carriage and they walked up the steps, Flame dragging behind from his injured shoulder, they opened the door and walked in, as they stepped into the living room, they heard a loud shout, "dad!" came two young voices, Flame watched as Night Gale and Star Dust ran down the steps and up to him, throwing their hooves around him, like they did when they were young and he came home from work, "ah! Night Gale, Star Dust, I'm glad to see you both, but ease up, I'm still a little sore" he said with a chuckle.

They let go, and smiled at him, "sorry dad" Star Dust said, with a grin, just as they walked away shining walked up to him, "well, the Princess wants to speak to all of us about the situation tomorrow, so for now we can just relax" he said, and Flame sighed, rubbing his sore shoulder.

"Good, one thing I do know, I could really use a drink, help ease my mind, and unwind a bit" he said with a smile and they all went to the study to relax.

(Later that night…)

"Oww! Twilight, be careful!" Flame yelled, as Twilight removed the bandage around his shoulder, and around his chest and stomach, he cringed as she pulled away the old bandages and brought out a new roll, but not before inspecting the wounds, "how bad does it look?" he asked, Twilight levitated a mirror in front of him, while Flame may have been able to walk around, the doctor warned him not to use any magic for a day or two, as it would drain his strength, in an injured state, magic could prove to be bad for a unicorn, and would drain them.

Flame glanced back through the mirror, and groaned, the wound was still black, and had small bits of dried blood, along the line of the stitches, Twilight took the mirror away and unwound the roll, and slowly began wrapping it around the wounds, Flame cringed and groaned as she did so.

"Ah! Be careful, it still hurts" he said as she was barely touching the wounds, they were sitting on the bed up in their room, that they used when they stayed there, Twilight rolled her eyes at her husband's complaining, despite being married for almost ten years, Flame could still act like a foal, "oh stop your complaining, it may hurt, but your acting like a baby, hold still" she said as she finished wrapping the bandages and tossed it aside.

Flame sighed heavily and hoped off the bed, Twilight got off as well, and walked up to him, Flame turned to the window, and looked out, lost in his thoughts, Twilight noticed this and walked up to him, "Flame, you okay?" she asked, he turned to her and smiled, "yeah I'm fine, just glad to be back, did you think I would leave Night and Star alone with you, I don't think you would survive" he said with a chuckle, she giggled at his joke, he placed a hoof on her shoulder, "yeah, that wouldn't end well" she said, Flame smiled and leaned in and kissed her on the lips, a gesture she greatly returned, they stayed like that, until they heard a set of hooves walk in the room, and a startled gasp.

"wow, um, sorry my bad" they turned and saw Shining standing in the door, an awkward look on his face, Flame sighed with disappointment, "no, it's nothing, what do you need?" he asked as he walked into the room, he out of his uniform, and dressed in a robe, as he too was getting ready for bed.

"well, I thought I would let you know, the guards will be patrolling the perimeter of the house, but they won't be inside, so we should all be able to get a good night's sleep, especially you Flame, and…that's all for now, I'll let you two get some sleep, any problems just give a shout" he said as he walked out and closed the door with his magic.

Flame and Twilight looked at each other, and shrugged and got ready for bed themselves, Flame walked over to shut the curtains, their window looked over the main street, the street was quiet, he watched as some of the guards walked around the house, knowing that these ponies would serve to the death, he felt more comfortable, he looked across the streets at the quiet homes around, all dark and quiet, no lights or movement, and yet he felt he was being watched by somepony other than the guards, he pushed that feeling aside, and shut the curtains.

(Later…)

It was now well into the night, and the moon was high up in the sky and the city was well asleep, Flame lay in the bed, on his good side, looking out the crack he left in the curtains, the moon gleamed right through the crack and into his eyes, for reasons he could not explain, he couldn't sleep, the memory of the encounter he had in the hospital room, still haunted him, and he couldn't help but shake the feeling of something bad.

He was brought from his thoughts, when he heard the ruffling of sheets, he knew that it was Twilight turning in bed, most of the times she was a sound sleeper, and so was he, but not tonight.

He looked away and began rubbing the pillow, trying to make it more comfortable, when he heard his wife's voice, "Flame…you awake?" she asked in a whisper, Flame didn't turn, he lifted his head slightly, "…yeah, but you should be asleep" he said back, he listened as Twilight pushed herself up against him, "I could say the same for you" she said, Flame sighed and turned to the other side, now facing her, luckily the bed was very soft, and didn't affect his bad shoulder.

They stared at each other for a few minutes, until she spoke up, "Flame, what's wrong, you've been acting kind of distant since we came to Canterlot, tell me what's wrong" she said scooting closer to him, Flame sighed and looked away for a moment, he wanted to tell her about that night in the hospital, but he didn't know where to begin, he looked back at her, "it's…nothing, just have a lot on my mind, with everything that's going on, I just wish for once, we could come here, for a family visit, no threat of war, just us together" he said, Twilight gave a gentle smile, "I guess I should thank you" she said, Flame gave her a confused look, "thank me for what?" he asked.

Twilight frowned, "back in the market place, you saved Shining's life, I know you're my husband, but he is my brother, I'm just glad you both came out of it alive" she said with a tear in her eye, Flame moved his hoof up and wiped it away, "like I said to him, sacrifice is what family does for each other, if it came to it, I would do it again, and I know he would do the same for me, I just hope it doesn't come to that" he said, and she smiled slightly, and she reached for his hoof.

He grabbed it and held it tight, and they just stared into each other's eyes, until finally Twilight spoke up, "I love you Flame, more than I can express with words" she said with a smile, Flame smiled back and brought his other hoof, and rubbed her cheek, he leaned in and kissed her on the lips, she returned it, it was a kiss of passion, they both enjoyed the moment, until they separated, and Flame smiled back at her, "and I love you Twilight, more than life itself, you and our family is the most important thing to me, no amount of money or fame would ever change that" he said with a smile.

This time Twilight surprised him, by kissing him passionately, he was taken aback by the gesture, when Twilight pulled away and smiled at him, he brought his hoof up to her chin, and then suddenly pulled her into another kiss, one that was better than the other two, and as the lovers began kissing more, Flame began rubbing his hoof up and down her form, until his hoof rested on her hip, she gasped and they separated, Twilight had a blush on her face, "Flame, what are you doing?" she asked, Flame simply smiled at her, "what? A stallion isn't allowed to admire his beautiful wife" he said, Twilight blushed again, "I hardly think, this is the right time or place to do this" she said giving him a certain look, that only he could know, and he smiled.

"besides, your still hurt, the doctor said little activity" she said, Flame could see what she really wanted, "but I haven't done anything today at all, I feel fine" he said, Twilight smiled at him and kissed him yet again, and soon the simple kiss, turned into a make-out session, and Twilight turned on to her back, bringing Flame with her, he landed on top, and smiled down at her, and leaned in to kiss her again.

And the night took a passionate turn for the lovers.

(Later…)

It was now well past midnight, and the moon had just begun its descent, Flame and Twilight slept soundly, Twilight laying on her side, a smile on her face, Flame had his hoof draped around her stomach, many times through their marriage, they had talked about having a third foal, but knowing that Night Gale and Star Dust were already a hoofull enough, when being raised, but they still made love many times, to them, it was about the desire and love for each other, not just a physical attraction, but the passion between them.

Twilight suddenly opened her eyes, and looked around, she heard Flame snoring lightly, and smile on his face, just as she was about to close her eyes, she heard what sounded like a crash from the floor below them, she shot up in bed, at first she thought she was just paranoid, but then remembered that there were no guards in the house, she turned to Flame, who was stirring, "Flame, wake up" she said, shaking him a little, he slowly opened his eyes, and sat up, "what, what is it?" he said with a yawn.

"I…thought I heard something down stairs" she said, Flame groaned and looked at her, "probably just one of the guards" he said, Twilight looked at him, "I can't be, Shining said the guards wouldn't come in the house" she said, Flame realized she was right, he slowly climbed out of bed and pulled on a robe, and Twilight did the same, Flame opened their door, and they both walked out into the hall, they slowly made their way to the stairs, when they stood at the top of the steps, they looked at the entry way, they didn't see anything out of the ordinary, except for the study door opened.

They both slowly walked down the stairs, "okay, you check the study, I'll check the dining room and kitchen" Flame said and they both walked away, Flame made his way to the dining room, and walked in, earlier in the night, it started raining again, the rain beat down on the windows, but Flame didn't see anything out of the ordinary, and continued making his way into the kitchen.

Twilight slowly made her way to the study, the door stood slightly open, just enough for her to see in, she slowly pushed the door open, and it creaked and groaned.

She slowly made her way into the room; she watched the rain beat against the window, the lightning outside flashed, and briefly filled the room with light, Twilight steadily walked into the room, watching every corner, she made her way into the middle of the room, when she suddenly heard the door creaking, she turned and saw something that sent her blood running cold.

She watched as a pony emerged from behind the door, "well, it's nice to finally meet you Twilight Sparkle, I've been waiting quite some time for this" he said with a sinister grin, a fearful look appeared on her face, she backed up into the shelf and books fell off, the pony just smiled at her as he took a step towards her, Twilight remembered that Flame was in the other room.

"Flame! Help! In the study!" she shouted as he took another step towards her.

(Meanwhile…)

As Flame looked through the kitchen, suddenly he heard his wife call out in fear, "Flame! Help! In the study!" he heard her cry, Flame immediately ran out of the room, and ran into the entryway, he turned to the study and saw the door wide open, he saw Twilight backed against the wall, and an unfamiliar pony standing in front of her.

And angry look appeared on his face, "hey! Stay away from her!" he shouted as he ran forward, the pony turned and smiled, as he grabbed the door and slammed it shut, Flame stopped and stood in front of the door, he pounded on the door, "Twilight can you hear me?!" he shouted, just as he did, he heard another voice, "what's going on here?" he turned and saw Shining and the others running down the stairs, a fearful look came over Flame, "Twilight's trapped in the study, there's somepony in there with her, get the guards!" he yelled, as he banged on the door, they ran down and Shining got there, "okay, let me try" he said as Flame backed away, Shining charged forward and rammed into the door with his shoulder, but it didn't budge.

"What the? This door's sealed tight" he said pounding on it.

(In the study…)

Twilight watched in fear as the pony turned back to her, she could hear the pounding on the door, but her fear was too great to call out for them, "there, now that were alone, we can get down to business, there's no point in calling out, by the time they get in, I'll have finished my work" he said as he began walking towards her, Twilight just looked at him in fear, she wished this was all a dream, but she knew it wasn't.

"What do you want with me?" she asked, fear evident in her voice, he smiled at her and kept slowly walking towards her, and gave off a chuckle, "my boss, believes that your husband poses a threat to our operation, I've been ordered to, shall we saw, cut you out of the picture" he said a she got in front of her, but just as he did, the door flew open and crashed to the floor, broken off its hinges, and in ran Flame and all the others, followed by some of the guards.

Twilight felt a wave of relief, at the sight of her husband and brother, the pony turned to them with a frown, "hold it right there, get away from her!" shouted Shining Armor, the pony just stared at him, "your under arrest, for breaking and entering, and attempted murder" Shining Armor said with an angry look on his face, the pony just smiled, Twilight still cowering behind him, pushed up against the bookshelf, Flame glanced her worriedly, Shining bought out his spear, that was placed above the mantle, to the left, and levitated it.

"so, this is heroic and mighty Flame, the greatest hero in Equestria, it's amazing you survived, maybe you are hard to kill, but I still have the upper hoof" he said, Flame was about to ask what he meant, when he reached under his cloak, and pulled out a pistol, and then grabbed Twilight by the mane, and pulled her in front of him, and brought the pistol under her chin, they all gasped and made a move, but stopped when the pony yelled out, "stop right there, or I will blow this bitch's brains out" he yelled and they all stopped, getting into fighting positions, Flame saw the look of absolute terror on his wife's face, he felt his heart pounding against his chest in fear, he turned and saw Night's and Star's fearful looks as well.

"Drop the weapons, I said drop them, or you'll be cleaning up the mess" he said tightening the grip around her neck, Twilight felt herself choking, Flame felt the fear in him rise, he turned to Shining who had an angry look on his face, "Shining we can't risk it, put the spear down" he said, the pony frowned at them and again tightened his grip on Twilight, "running out of time, what's it going to be?" he asked, Flame spoke first, "okay, okay, were putting the weapons down, just take it easy, let's talk it over, just don't hurt her" Flame said trying to reason with the assassin.

The pony smiled as they all dropped their weapons, "sorry Flame, but I have a specific mission, to kill your wife, it's really a shame, she is beautiful and smart, but I guess the elements of harmony will finally be broken" he said with a smile, Flame stared at Twilight with pure fear in his eyes, Twilight had the same look, she looked from Flame to her brother, and all the others, sheer terror plastered on her face.

Shining looked down at his spear, and then back at the assassin, a small smile appeared on his face, as he formed an idea, luckily the assassin was to focused on Flame, "I hope you had a chance to say goodbye to your lovely wife, tell her you love her one last time, if not, then it's too late" he said as he looked at Twilight, who simply stared at Flame.

Just as he was about to move, when Shining yelled out and levitated the spear and threw it at the assassin, who was too focused on Flame, he turned and saw it too late, luckily he was a Pegasus, and he spread his wings out, and tossed Twilight away and dodged back, Twilight fell to the floor with a cry, Flame and Shining took this chance to charge at the assassin, who was on the ground, he saw this coming and pulled out his pistol, and pointed it at Flame, who was shocked and stopped in place, Shining saw this jumped in the way, "Flame, look out!" he yelled as the pistol went off, and Shining cried out in pain as the bullet hit him in the chest.

Shining fell to the floor with a cry, and didn't move, they all gasped in fear, "Shining Armor! Nooo!" Cadence cried and immediately ran to his side, Flame gasped when he saw this, but felt his anger flare, he yelled out in anger and tackled the assassin to the ground, and began punching him hard, the assassin blocked one of his punches, and then kicked him in his stomach, right in the bandaged area, Flame cried out in utter pain, as he was thrown to the floor, the assassin stood up and spread his wings, and took off crashing through the window and flying off into the night, Flame pushed himself up and ran over to the others.

Cadence had Shining Armor's head lifted up and cradled in her hooves, she had tears in her eyes, Flame looked at the wound, it was leaking blood, staining his white coat, he was barely able to speak, "Cadence…i-i…love…" he said before he closed his eyes and said no more, Cadence seemed to lose it, "No! No Shining stay with me, don't leave me, not now!" she cried, Twilight had tears pouring down her eyes, Flame pushed past and placed a hoof at Shining's neck, "it's okay, he's still got a pulse, we need to get him to the hospital, we need a doctor, somepony get to a doctor!" he yelled as they carried him out into the carriage and rode off into the night, trying to get him to the hospital.

**A/N: well, that was longer than expected, but I hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading, and more chapters will be up soon.**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: hey guys, it's been a while since I've written a chapter for this story, so I decided to do so, so I hope you guys enjoy the chapter.**

**The Beginning of the End: chapter 8: more warnings**

After they arrived at the hospital, despite it being late at night, they immediately took shining into the emergency room, but the others were not allowed to follow, they were forced to wait in the main lobby, and they did, they waited well into dawn, with the sun barely starting to rise on the horizon, not long after, both Princess's arrived at the hospital, having been told of the tragedy.

They all sat around the lobby waiting impatiently for the news, Cadence sat in one of the seats, eyes blood-shot from tears, Twilight comforting her, tears in her eyes as well, Flame was pacing the lobby, the tension in the air was thick, finally, their thoughts were answered, when the head doctor pushed through the doors, and walked into the lobby, a clipboard levitating in front of his face, Cadence looked up, eyes becoming full of fear, judging by the look on his face, it wasn't good.

Flame walked up to him, "how is he doctor, is he going to live, please doctor" he said in a desperate tone, the doctor looked at all of them, before placing the clipboard down, and smoothing his mane, "good news and bad news, the good news is, he will live, the bad news, he's in a very critical state, he'll need to stay here for a few days" he said, Flame felt a huge wave of relief go over him, knowing that he would live, but still worried as to what happened, but Cadence beat him to it, "what happened, is my husband going to be okay?" she asked drying the tears from her eyes.

The doctor turned to her, "yes, he'll be fine, he's got a lot of healing ahead of him, he should count himself very lucky, the bullet that hit him, missed his heart by a few inches, it shattered one of his ribs, and he lost a lot of blood, but he's on a slow road to recovery, he should be able to leave in a few days' time, if you come back tomorrow, he should be awake, we'll take good care of him, you should all go home and get some rest, you've had a long night, leave it to us, he's a strong stallion, he'll pull through it, slowly, but he will" he said, Cadence took a heavy sigh of relief, as well as Twilight, as the tension in the air began to vanish.

Flame turned to Twilight and wrapped his hooves around her in a hug, something she greatly returned, tears coming down her face, just as they all started talking, Flame and Twilight separated and Twilight walked back over to Cadence, just as he watched her go, he heard Princess Celestia walk up behind him, "Flame, might I have a word, outside?" she asked, Flame looked up at her confused, but nodded and they walked out the door.

(Outside the hospital lobby…)

After they stepped outside, Celestia gave a heavy sigh, as they walked down the path, "I hope you can forgive me Flame, this is my fault, all of this" she said in a sad tone, Flame looked up at her in confusion, "what is? This isn't your fault, you had no idea this could happen" he said, the moment felt awkward, since it was Flame trying to comfort the Princess, "but it is, if I hadn't sent the order for you and your family to be brought here, then you wouldn't be in the state you are in now, maybe we could have avoided all of this, if you stayed there" she said as they both stopped, they turned to each other.

Flame sighed and rubbed his wounded shoulder, he looked up at the Princess, "it's nothing, if I hadn't been there, Shining Armor would be dead, I'm actually glad you brought us back into this, especially me, because I want to find the son of a bitch that is trying to hurt my family, and take him down, I will do anything in my power to stop him" he said bravely, Princess Celestia smiled down at him.

They turned and looked as all the others came walking out of the hospital lobby, Flame and the Princess turned to each other, "we'll talk more, later, we need to find out what's going on, and act fast before they strike us again, all we can do is wait for Shining Armor to recover, we'll speak again when he recovers" she said as she climbed into the royal carriage, Luna quickly joined her, and they rode off, heading for the castle.

Flame watched them for a minute, and then turned to the others, Cadence seemed to be in a slightly better mood, but he could still read the fear and uncertainty in her eyes, "so, what's the plan?" he said speaking more to Cadence then the others, she looked up at him and did her best to smile, "the doctor said he should be awake, sometime tomorrow, his Lieutenants will take over for the time being, I just…don't know how to tell Melody everything" she said looking down for a minute, Flame looked away sadly, and the sighed, "Cadence…if you want, I could tell her, I know you feel it should be your duty, but you just need to relax and rest for the time being" he said, she looked up at him, studying his face, looked away for a minute, thinking it over, finally she turned back to him and nodded.

After they all went their separate ways, they all climbed into the carriage and made their way back to the house.

(Shining Armor and Cadence's house, study)

Cadence and Twilight sat in the study, Twilight still trying to comfort her, they listened as Flame was out in the entry way explaining everything to Melody as best he could, as they listened, Flame stopped and calmly entered the room, a calm look on his face, Cadence looked up, "she'll be fine, I explained it to her as best I could, we both know she's been through a lot, all of our foals have, Night Gale and Star Dust were the same when I was in the hospital" he said taking a seat as one of the maid brought in a tray with some wine glasses, just thinking about that made all their stomachs rumble, Cadence smiled, "oh dear, we've been so…busy, we forgot to get breakfast, I'll go and make some hay sandwiches" she said as she got up, Twilight got up as well, "I'll help you" she said as the two mares left the room, leaving Flame alone.

For a minute he remained staring at the door, then he looked away, lifted the bottle of wine to the cup, poured some into his glass and capped the bottle, he gave a deep sigh as he took a sip of the wine, he felt more soothed, groaning as he placed the cup down, he took a deep breath, but as he did he was interrupted by a voice from behind, "hello again, Flame" came a calm voice, the voice startled Flame, he jumped up and spun around, and saw the same familiar pony from the night at the hospital, he stood leaning against the wall, looking out the window.

Flame felt a mix of emotions rise in him, anger, fear, confusion, "you again! How did you get in here?" he demanded, Red Star looked at him and smiled, "I have my ways" he simply said, Flame backed up, then he realized that Twilight and Cadence were in the entry way, "Twilight! Cadence! Get in here!" he shouted, but nopony answered, he turned and saw Red Star still leaning on the wall, looking out the window again, chuckling, "that won't do you any good, they have been…taken care of" he said the last part slowly, Flame felt his anger grow, he cried out and charged at him, Red Star made no attempt to move, Flame rammed into him, and pinned him up against the wall, ignoring the sharp pain in his shoulder, "what did you do with them?" Flame said menacingly, Red Star just laughed, "Please Flame, there's nothing you could possibly do to scare me, your family is perfectly safe, no need to act so violent, now will you please let me down" he said calmly, but Flame refused to do so.

"no, not until you tell me what is going on, how did you know something like this was going to happen, you better start giving some answers, or I'll make you regret you ever came near me or my family" he said, Red Star saw the seriousness in Flame's eyes, and frowned, "very well, let me down and I'll tell you" he said, Flame slowly backed up and gave him some space, Red Star cleared his throat and dusted off his shoulder, finally he turned to see the expecting look on his face.

"Fine, as you already know, back in the hospital room, I warned you, things were only going to get worse, and they still are, much worse, something you can't stop, nor can the Princess's" he said, but that didn't answer Flame's question, "but how did you know this would happen, if you told me something, I could have found a way to stop it, Cadence almost lost her husband, and Melody her father" he said, Red Star merely smiled, which both confused and angered Flame.

"think of it this way Flame, Shining Armor risked his life to save yours, just like you did for him, maybe you don't understand it yet, but your body was still healing from your wounds, if you were to be shot again, your body wouldn't be able to take the shock, and you would have died, he saved your life by risking his own, something you're no stranger to" he said, as he made his way back to the window.

Flame felt confused by what he meant, even though he did part of his question, "I'm still not sure I understand what you mean, you had the perfect opportunity to help, yet you did nothing, you knew about this, you could have helped me stop it, your nothing but a coward" Flame said, making Red Star stop in his tracks, Red Star immediately vanished and appeared again a mere few inches from Flame's face, anger in his eyes, but he was still calm, "I would watch your tone with me, I've seen things even you can't imagine, I've been around for a long time, seen things and places you couldn't even comprehend, plus it would be rather unwise to challenge me" he said, Flame actually felt fear, since he had no idea what he was capable of.

Red Star backed away, and then walked back to the window, Flame cleared his throat, "but if you could stop those these from happening, or these bad things that are going to happen, would you?" Flame asked, he watched as Red Star sighed heavily, "it's not a question of would I, of course I would, I would do anything to keep harm away from those who don't deserve it, but I can't, my job is to make sure it does happen" he said in a sorrowful tone, Flame felt this was his chance to get some real answers, "and what is your job, specifically, who are you, and how in Celestia's name could you possibly know that any of what happened was going to happen?" he asked in a serious tone, Red Star glared at him, "I just know these things, I-" he started saying but was cut off by Flame, "no, that's not a real answer, tell me how you know these things, I'm getting tired of this game, what is it that's so bad, that is coming, tell me so I can help stop it, whatever it is" he said, Red Star just continued to glare at him, he then looked to the side, "I can't tell you, it would be against what fate has planned for you" he said, Flame looked around for a minute, "you seem to be a fan of fate" he said, this time Red Star chuckled at the comment, "and why shouldn't I be, that's my job, it's what I do, fate is more important than most of your kind believes, it shapes the world, it defines us, it knows every exact step we will take, it knows who we were in the past, what we are now, and what we will be in the future, and fate has something very special planned for you, something you may not like, but will come to respect in the end" he said, and that particular comment caught Flame's attention.

"And what is that?" he asked, as he waited patiently, Red Star smiled slightly, but then it faded, "what the true meaning of sacrifice is, you may think you know it now, but in time you will know what it means to sacrifice yourself for those you care about" he said in a calm yet serious tone, Flame was shocked by what he said, he opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out, he cleared his throat and tried again, "you said that 'fate' was your job, what did you mean by that?" he asked, Red Star merely looked down and smiled, "well, not in the literal sense, but in time you will know, it may be some time until we meet again, be prepared for something big, bigger than you could possibly imagine, until next time, Flame" he said and then in an instant he was gone, Flame blinked and rubbed his eyes, he was sure he didn't blink, and yet he looked all around the room, and there was no sign of him.

Flame calmly sat down in his same spot, pouring himself a full glass of wine, and drinking it, he shook his head trying to think, but lost his train of thought when the door opened and in walked his wife, she instantly saw the confused look on his face, "Flame, is something wrong?" she asked in a worried voice, he looked at her, he wanted to tell her what just happened, but she would probably think he was crazy, and wouldn't understand, he did his best to smile, "yeah I'm fine, what's up" he said, Twilight gave him a suspicious look, and then pushed that aside, "well, Applejack and the others will be arriving shortly, we should go meet them at the train station" she said as she left the room, Flame stayed for a second, the last few minutes still running in his mind, he eventually got up and walked out the door.

**A/N: well, that was certainly interesting, the story is continuing to unfold more, hope you all enjoyed, and there will be more chapters soon, peace.**


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